Troublesome Girls and Lazy Boys
by authorinprogress97
Summary: Shikamaru Nara and Katsumi Inuzuka. Polar opposites yet so alike. They are best friends in every way and that's all they'll ever be... right? Shikamaru/OC one-shot


_**I have reawakened my love for Naruto fanfics and this just came into my head as I was walking home one day! Hope you guys like it. Both Shika-kun and Sumi-chan are about sixteen, I guess.**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own. I **_**do**_** own Katsumi and Akemi though.**_

_**-8-8-8-8-8-**_

Katsumi landed lightly on the window sill, glad that she had remembered to leave the window open. She knew her roommates wouldn't be happy knowing she had stayed out so late and that she had gotten injured, even if she did get off luckier than her teammates. She rolled her eyes. Sometimes, her roommates acted more like her mother than her roommates. Even Tsume never acted the way her twin brother, Kiba and her best friend, Shikamaru, did.

She slowly let her window shut, locking the window with a gentle click. She stood at the window, listening for the sound of her two roommates being awake. The apartment was silent except for the sound of soft and slow breathing. She sighed in relief. They didn't know.

She dropped her weapons pouch on the nightstand next to her bed as she released her hair from the bun she had left it in. Her wild brown hair tumbled down her back and she ruffled her hair, a gesture she and her brother shared. Her companion, Akemi, whimpered a little, causing Katsumi to freeze.

She heard footsteps outside her bedroom door. She cursed inwardly. She knew there was someone missing! Her ebony eyes were fixed on her door, hoping that whoever it was outside her door, be it her brother or best friend, would just walk past and go on to their room.

She could hear a quiet sigh and knew it was futile to hope. "I can hear you, you know," a lazy voice softly called out through the thin material of the door.

She gave a sigh of her own. "I know," she answered, rolling her eyes a little.

She stood in front of her door, hesitating slightly. She knew the cut above her eyebrow was still bleeding, albeit sluggishly. She should have gone to the hospital, but why should she when she could heal it herself? She could even ask Sakura, if the girl wasn't already asleep. Rolling her eyes at her ridiculousness, she opened her door, Akemi barking softly and wagging her tail as she rushed at Shikamaru.

"I swear, she gets more excited to see you than she does to see me," Katsumi commented as she watched her best friend get licked by her companion.

"I doubt so," he grumbled, trying to push Akemi's tongue away from his wet face before saying to the dog, "Yes, yes, nice to see you too. Troublesome dog."

"Akemi, heel," she ordered almost amusedly. Akemi gave one more soft bark before turning and standing in front of her mistress, almost defensively.

It was then that Shikamaru finally got a good look at Katsumi. There was a wide gash that was bleeding above her left eyebrow and her dark blue battle kimono bearing her clan symbol was dirtied and scuffed up. There was a purpling bruise on her left cheek and there was another deep cut across her forearm. Part of the bandaging that could usually be found around Katsumi's legs was torn and her black fingerless gloves were stained crimson with blood. Now that he thought about it, Akemi looked about the same, with a smattering of blood across her white fur. He raised an eyebrow. "Rough night?"

She flapped a hand dismissively, as if to say 'something like that'. "It could have been rougher," she admitted, leaning against the doorjamb. She wiped some blood away with her fingers, flicking it onto her already dirty clothes.

"Tough mission?" he asked casually, leaning against the wall. Katsumi eyed him, noticing the way his muscles tensed slightly. She shrugged lightly, pushing off and brushing past him to head towards the small kitchen.

"Tough patrol," she corrected, walking to the sink and washing the blood off her hands. She felt him enter the small kitchen before she heard his footsteps and smelt his scent growing stronger.

"Are Naruto and Sai okay?" he asked. She paused in her washing before drying her hands on a dish towel nearby. She didn't answer as she dunked her head under the still running tap, washing away dried blood. She bit back a yelp as the water stung her cut. She groped for the dish towel, wiping her now wet face and winced as she dabbed at her cut.

"They're alive," she muttered, her voice muffled by the towel. "Barely. Idiots."

"What happened?" Shikamaru finally asked.

"We got ambushed," she answered tiredly, throwing the blood spotted towel into the sink. "If Naruto and Sai hadn't been too busy freakin' _arguing_, they probably would be fine right now!"

"Where are they now?"

She looked over him. "You know, you're asking a lot of questions _willingly_ tonight. Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" she asked playfully. He rolled his eyes, leaning against the counter.

"I'm taking the time to ask and you're being troublesome."

"Ah, now there's the Shikamaru I know." She paused, sitting on the counter before sighing heavily. "They're at the hospital, knocked out cold." She hesitated, her grip on the counter's edge tightening ever so slightly as she looked at Akemi, who was sitting at her feet. "I… I think Sasuke was there."

The effect on Shikamaru was almost alarming. He shot up from his lazy slouch against the counter next to her. His gaze was sharp on her as his eyes narrowed. "_Sasuke_ was there?"

She didn't meet his eyes as she shrugged. "I'm not sure," she replied slowly, cautiously. "I _thought_ I smelt his scent – Akemi did too – but it could have just been residual from being around him for too long. I just – it happened so fast, Shika. One minute I was trying to get Naruto and Sai to stop fighting and the next moment…" she trailed off, her slightly clouded ebony eyes finally meeting his. "It just happened so fast."

He exhaled sharply. "If Sasuke was there, don't you think – "

"He couldn't have been there," she said, cutting him off. "Last I heard, he was in Rain. That's miles away from where we are. He shouldn't – no, he _couldn't_ be there."

He slanted a look at her, but didn't comment. He had a feeling she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him.

"You should have gone to the hospital to get healed," he grunted, eyeing her injuries.

"I can heal myself just fine," she replied, smirking slightly. "Have a little faith in me."

"Hn. That usually gets me in trouble. Troublesome woman."

"And _you_ usually get _me_ in trouble, you lazy man."

"Troublesome woman."

"Lazy man."

They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying each other's company. What with both of them being chuunins and being on different teams, they rarely saw each other. They hadn't really had time to talk before this. Katsumi inhaled softly, the scents of her nin-dog and best friend invading her nostrils. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she thought of how pleasant Shikamaru's scent was. Her blush was obscured by the red markings on her cheeks present on all Inuzukas.

It was – for lack of a better word – troublesome for her to be thinking that way of her _best friend_. She had known Shikamaru since they were both in the Academy. They had gone through a lot together and had seen each other at their worst and at their best.

A small smile quirked her lips as memories of _that_ day flashed through her mind.

"_You're not the boss of me!" five-year-old Katsumi yelled to her twin, fists clenched at her side._

_Kiba scowled. "Yes I am," he declared, aggravating his sister further. "I'm older!"_

"_By six minutes! That doesn't count!" Katsumi couldn't believe Kiba was acting like he had any say in how she wanted to live her life. She scowled at him, her own canines bared._

"_Well, mama said that he's bad."_

"_No she didn't! You just don't want me making friends with other people," she argued, eyes flashing angrily. Their nin-dogs sat by their feet, ears flat against their heads. Akamaru and Akemi didn't like seeing their master and mistress fighting. It was unpleasant and usually meant that they wouldn't get to play together while the twins simmered down._

_The whole class was watching the Inuzuka twins arguing, half-expecting the two to start hitting each other. Their anger was palpable in the air, making the tension so thick it could be cut with a kunai._

"_I never said that," Kiba shouted. "I just – "_

"_You just what? Wanted to keep me friendless?" she interrupted angrily, a lock of brown hair falling into her eyes. She brushed it away impatiently, her dark eyes shining with tears. "It's not fair, Kiba!"_

_A look of regret flashed across his face as he saw the tears in her eyes. He stepped forward, reaching out a hand. "Sumi… I – "_

"_I don't want to talk to you!" she cried, stepping back. She wiped her eyes angrily as she turned away from her brother._

"_Fine! I don't want to talk to you either!"_

"_Fine!"_

"_Good!"_

"_Good!"_

_Katsumi stalked off to the other side of the room, ignoring the stares of her fellow class mates as she heavily sat down at a desk. Akemi whined slightly at Akamaru before trailing after her mistress, leaving a fuming Kiba and saddened Akamaru behind._

He didn't have any right to say that_, Katsumi thought angrily as her nin-dog shuffled at her feet, attempting to calm her down. She absentmindedly petted Akemi, lifting her onto her lap and looking down at her nin-dog as she sighed sadly._

_She didn't like fighting with Kiba, but sometimes he was just so stubborn! He liked to lord the fact that he was older by six minutes over her head and she didn't like that. She didn't like that one bit._

_Still, he was her brother. Her _twin_ brother. If they weren't fighting, they were so close it was almost unbelievable to think they would ever fight. However, they were both headstrong, stubborn and determined that they were right. Perhaps it was the fact that they were both so much alike which caused them to butt heads as often as they did._

_She sighed again, stroking Akemi's white fur, mottled with flecks of grey. She still didn't like fighting with her brother._

"_Even if he did start it," she grumbled quietly to herself. Akemi looked up at her, yipping quietly._

"_You're kind of in my seat," a voice said. It had a lazy quality to it, as if the speaker could barely have the energy to open his mouth, let alone speak. "What a drag."_

_Katsumi looked up, her blush obscured by the red fang-like marks on her cheek. The boy standing in front of her right now had dark brown hair tied in such a way that it was sticking up, making him look like a pineapple. His posture was lazy – a hand in his pocket and his figure slouched._

Nara_, Katsumi noted absentmindedly, spotting the Nara clan symbol on his shirt. She had seen him around before, with a boy named Chouji. She didn't know much about them; they preferred to keep to themselves._

"_I'm sorry," she said, looking off to the side slightly. Then, she stood up, Akemi in her hands. "I'll just go…"_

_The Nara boy sighed. "It's okay. You can just sit there."_

_She sat back down slowly, her lips curved into an almost smile. "Thanks," she said quietly, looking back down at Akemi, who was in her lap. She heard the Nara boy sigh again, muttering what she thought was "troublesome" under his breath._

"_I'm Shikamaru," he said, the lazy tone in voice never wavering. Katsumi turned her head, seeing him seated at the desk next to her, his head in his arms._

"_I'm Katsumi, and this is Akemi," Katsumi muttered back, her eyes flicking to wear her twin brother was currently seated at the other side of the room._

"_Inuzuka, huh?" he asked._

_She rolled her eyes, a slight smirk playing on her lips. "Why ask when you already know the answer?" she countered._

_Shikamaru blinked at her before smirking. "Troublesome," he declared her, but it didn't seem like he really meant it. She couldn't be sure, though. Katsumi would find later that Shikamaru declared everything troublesome, but he especially called her troublesome (Of course, she would find out _much_ later that it was his way of showing he cared)._

_The smirk on her face dropped slightly as she looked past Shikamaru to her fuming brother._

Troublesome_, she thought gloomily. _That's probably what Kiba thinks I am.

_He noticed her stare and change of expression before sighing once more. "Chouji and I usually go watch clouds after school. Do you want to come?"_

_Katsumi blinked at the offer. "You want me to come?" she repeated._

"_Yeah," he replied. "So, do you?"_

_A smile lit up the girl's face as she nodded. It seemed that even without saying anything, her new friend had picked up on her reluctance to go home with her brother. "Yeah, I'd like that," she replied, nodding vigorously._

_Akemi yipped from her lap and Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Your dog can come too. Troublesome girl."_

_She rolled her eyes back at him. "Who are you calling troublesome, you lazy boy?"_

"_Troublesome girl," he sighed out once more._

"_Lazy boy," she countered._

_At that moment, Iruka-sensei walked in, calling the class to settle down. Shikamaru and Katsumi glanced at each other one more time before facing the front._

"_Troublesome girl," he muttered under his breath, loud enough for Katsumi to hear. She couldn't help but smirk, now knowing that he didn't really mean it._

"_Lazy boy," she muttered back, the lazy smirk on her face. And just like that, the Nara boy and the Inuzuka girl became friends._

Katsumi blinked as a hand waved in front of her face.

"Katsumi, are you okay?" Shikamaru's concerned voice echoed through her ears. She shook her head, bringing herself back to reality.

"Hmm? Yeah," she answered, waving an arm dismissively. A drop of blood dripped onto the floor for her open cut, but both shinobi paid it no attention. "Just thinking. Do you remember when we first met?"

He snorted. "Of course. You sat in my seat after having that loud troublesome fight with Kiba."

She suppressed a smile at that. _So he does remember how we met…_

"You were troublesome, even back then," he added, causing the kunoichi to roll her eyes.

"You were pretty lazy back then too," she shot back, a small grin on her face.

Their quiet chuckles filled the small kitchen as they thought back to those innocent days when everything was so simple. His smile slipped off his face as another drop of blood dripped onto the floor. Another drop of _her_ blood.

"You should get that healed," he told her, frowning. Katsumi exhaled slowly.

"Yeah, I should, shouldn't I?" she said tiredly, eyeing the cut that was dripping blood onto the floor. Her hands formed the various hand seals required at a much slower pace than if she had been out in the field, waiting for the familiar green glow. She blinked as her hand didn't start glowing as she had expected and frowned, closing her eyes briefly as a groan escaped her lips.

"I don't have enough chakra to heal myself," she grumbled, slowly slipping off the counter. "I think I'll just take a quick shower, bandage these up and get some sleep."

"What a drag," he muttered as he grabbed hold of her uninjured arm and sat her down on one of the kitchen chairs instead. "Here, let me."

She raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you learn medical jutsu?"

"I've been your friend for the past eleven years. I was bound to pick up a thing or two," he replied, rolling his eyes a little as he sat in front of her.

She looked at his hand nervously as it began to glow green with medical chakra. "You _have_ done this before, right?" she asked nervously.

"Have a little faith in me," he muttered, echoing her earlier statement and adding, "Troublesome woman."

"And that usually gets me in trouble," she replied, throwing his words back at him. She couldn't help but add, "Lazy man."

She felt the cool sensation of medical chakra wash over her wound as the skin and muscle slowly began repairing itself, with the help of Shikamaru's chakra. When he was done, she patted the newly healed skin.

"Not bad, Nara," she said, a small smile on her face.

"You're not the only one who has to heal animals, Inuzuka," he replied with an almost playful eye roll. "Believe it or not, I can heal people too."

"Could've fooled me," she shot back as his hand moved up to her forehead to heal the gash there.

It was silent for a moment as Shikamaru healed the cut on her forehead. Katsumi found herself studying his features as he was concentrated on healing her. He had changed a lot since the first time they met. His dark eyes were still as focused as ever, which was usually masked by the tint of laziness. However, they now bore a slight emptiness. Katsumi often found the same in her eyes whenever she looked in the mirror. It was a burden, being a ninja. They kept so many secrets, and that wasn't even including their own. They also ran the risk of seeing comrades die. Sure, they tried their hardest to prevent that from happening, but they were only human. Humans made mistakes and even the slightest one in the battlefield could have dire consequences. Her eyes ran over her face, as if she was trying to memorize his features.

They never really knew when they'd be called out on missions, so they never knew when might be the last time they would ever see their friend or loved one. Yes, being a shinobi had its heavy burdens, but it was one they would bear readily.

She blushed as his eyes met hers, thankful for the dim lighting and the marks covering her cheeks. She really didn't know what it was about the lazy ninja in front of her that made her feel this way. He was her _best friend, _for Kami's sake!

Another smile quirked Katsumi's lips as she thought of a similar position they had been in before.

"What are you thinking about?" Shikamaru asked as his eyes shifted to her cheek.

"A little déjà vu, don't you think?" she said as she watched him heal her injuries.

"Huh, just a little," he grunted, glancing into her eyes once again. The two shinobi were silent for a moment as memories of a similar time engulfed them.

"_Hey," Katsumi greeted tiredly as she sat down next to him._

"_Hey," Shikamaru greeted back, looking over at his best friend concernedly. "You look horrible."_

_She rolled her eyes, scoffing. "Gee, thanks for the compliment, Shika," she said sarcastically._

_He turned to her, his face uncharacteristically serious. "I'm serious." His eyes swept over her battered body as he took in her injuries. There was a deep wound that seemed like it was caused by senbon on her right thigh and there was a long scratch across her cheek. There were twigs in her hair which was currently twisted in a bun and cuts and bruises littering her arms and legs._

_She waved a hand dismissively. "It's the chuunin exams. What else do you expect? Most of the teams here have no problem taking my team and me out. The Sound-nin is one example. And another…"_

_She trailed off as her ebony eyes clouded over slightly as she remembered something unseen to him. He frowned. "How did Sasuke and Naruto get knocked out before… you know?"_

_She grinned at him, but her grin was forced. "Another story for another time," she promised._

_He rolled his eyes at her. "Troublesome girl."_

_She laughed slightly. "You're just too lazy to find out. Lazy boy."_

_She frowned as she caught sight of something on his cheek. "You're hurt."_

_He looked at her almost incredulously. She was the one with the unconscious teammates and injuries she got from fighting Kami knows how many teams alone and she worried about him getting a cut? Unbelievable._

"_I'm fine," he sighed, leaning against the tree trunk. "What a drag. We still have another two days and we still haven't gotten a scroll."_

_She glanced at the unconscious Sound-nin. "Maybe you can take their scroll."_

"_What about you guys?"_

_She shook her head. "We already completed our set yesterday, but…" she trailed off, glancing away from him for a brief moment before looking back, something that he couldn't quite name lingering in her eyes. "We ran into some complications."_

_He sighed again, a frown creasing his forehead. "You're not going to tell me?"_

_She shook her head, laughing lightly. "Nope," she replied, popping the 'p'. "How will I keep my mystery if I tell you everything now?"_

"_Troublesome girl," he muttered, rolling his eyes._

"_Lazy boy," she teased back, nudging his shoulder lightly. "Ne, that's why we're friends, right? No one else can stand my troublesomeness and your laziness."_

"_So you think," he said, scratching his cheek and wincing as he brushed against his cut._

_She noticed and sighed, kneeling in front of him for a better look."Come here and let me heal it."_

"_I didn't know you knew medical jutsu."_

"_You don't know a lot about me, Nara," she replied, her hands blurring in a flurry of hand seals, ending with a tiger seal as she muttered, "Mystical Palm Jutsu!"_

_Her hand began to glow green with chakra and Shikamaru couldn't help but look a little apprehensively as her hand neared his cheek. "You have healed people before, right?" he couldn't help but ask._

_She rolled her eyes. "Of course. Who do you think helps out at the clinic? Kiba?" she snorted before shushing him. "Now stop talking or I might mess this up."_

"_Troublesome girl," he muttered one last time before falling quiet. He watched as she placed her glowing hand on the cut on his face and felt a cool sensation wash over it. Her eyes lit up as the cut slowly healed._

"_Hey, it worked!" she exclaimed quietly, running a gentle finger over the healed skin. He found himself fighting a blush, although he didn't know why._

"_I thought you said you've healed people before?" he asked, scowling to distract himself from the feel of Katsumi's fingers on his cheek._

_She waved a hand dismissively. "People, dogs, same difference. Look on the bright side: you don't have a cut on your cheek anymore!"_

_She grinned at him, the cheeky grin that usually meant there was something devious going on in her mind. He rolled his eyes, a slight grin of his own quirking his lips. Yes, she was weird and troublesome, but she was still his best friend. His hand brushed the skin of his cheek, satisfied that his cut was healed. His hand covered hers and he couldn't help but watch curiously as a slight pink tinge dusted across her cheeks._

"_Hey, Katsumi! Where'd you go?" the two best friends heard Naruto's voice yell. Katsumi turned, rolling her eyes at the antics of her loud-mouthed teammate._

"_Baka," she muttered under her breath. The slight grin on her face belied her affection for him as he ran into sight. "I'm over here!"_

"_You're okay!" he exclaimed as he neared them. He blinked as he saw Shikamaru and Katsumi sitting in the dirt, her hand still on his cheek being covered by his own. "Er, am I interrupting something?"_

_The shadow-nin and dog-nin stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment before looking at each other. It was then they realized that Katsumi's hand was still being covered by Shikamaru's and both hands were resting on his recently healed cheek. They immediately snatched their hands away, blushes blooming on their cheeks. She coughed as they avoided each other's gaze. Naruto just stood there and laughed._

_He looked over at his teammate, a sly grin on his face. "I knew you liked Shikamaru," he announced, watching gleefully as she turned a brighter red. Ino and Chouji turned their heads sharply at that, staring incredulously at the two friends._

"_Baka!" Katsumi yelled, getting up and chasing her loud-mouthed teammate. Naruto laughed as she chased him around the clearing, shouting profanities and threats at him. "Don't spread rumours around, Naruto-teme!"_

_Team Ten stared at the two of them running around the clearing as Sasuke shook his head at the antics of his two teammates, a smirk playing on his lips. To Team Ten, it was a weird occurrence, but to Team Seven, it was just another day._

They both chuckled as they came out of the memory.

"He's such a baka," she chuckled, wrinkling her nose slightly as she continued, "I still wouldn't change him for the world, you know?"

"Yeah…" he said. He was quiet for a moment before he added, "But he's still troublesome."

Katsumi rolled her eyes as his hand trailed to her left cheek to heal the bruise there. "Isn't everybody? To you, at least."

She inhaled sharply as she felt a tingling sensation where he was touching her cheek. She had a feeling it didn't have anything to do with the jutsu, but everything to do with the ninja executing the jutsu. He glanced into her eyes as he heard her sharp intake of breath.

"You okay?" he asked, his hand pausing on her cheek. _What happened? Did I do something wrong?_

She cleared her throat awkwardly. "I'm fine. I just… your hand is cold."

He blinked at her. He never really realized it, but his body temperature was lower than hers. He didn't know if it was because her blood ran hotter because she was an Inuzuka or if his blood ran cooler because he was a Nara.

"Maybe it's just because you're hot," he said. It was silent for a moment as he his words took the time to sink in, causing blushes to bloom on both their faces. "Er, I mean, because you know… your body temperature is higher than mine, so my hand feels cold to you."

He felt uncharacteristically flustered. He hadn't meant to make it sound that way. It just… slipped out of his mouth. There was something about the Inuzuka girl that was making him act unlike himself.

"Yeah, maybe," she replied quietly, gazing into his eyes. Her hand lifted to his, keeping it on her cheek. "Don't move it. It… it feels nice."

He couldn't move away, even if he wanted to. It felt like he was stuck in the Shadow Paralysis jutsu, but that wasn't possible. There wasn't anyone nearby except for Kiba, Akamaru and Akemi. It was just _something_ about the girl in front of him that made his heart beat faster and his stomach churn.

They had subconsciously moved closer, their faces inches away. He didn't know what was going on. Neither did she. All they knew was that they needed to be closer.

A loud thump had both shinobi springing apart, Katsumi almost falling out of her chair. Their eyes shot to the small hallway, where Kiba's room door inched open, revealing Katsumi's sleepy twin brother.

He stretched his arms out, yawned and ruffled his hair, seemingly oblivious to the awkward atmosphere between his two roommates.

He made his way to the bathroom and closed the door, locking it with a click. Katsumi scratched at her still-warm cheek, avoiding eye contact with Shikamaru as she stood up.

"I should go to bed. You know, get some sleep and replenish chakra and stuff," she said, ruffling a hand through her hair. "So… yeah. I'm just gonna… go."

_Well, this isn't awkward at all_, she thought sarcastically as she walked out of the small kitchen and into the hallway to their rooms. She could feel his stare on her back and hear Akemi's soft padding on the hardwood floor.

He watched as she walked into her room, the door closing behind her. He shook his head, wondering what just happened.

"What a drag," he muttered, frustrated at the thoughts that were bouncing around in his mind. _Troublesome woman…_

Slowly, he got up out of his seat, walking to his room. His eyes snuck a glance at her bedroom door before shaking his head again, muttering, "Troublesome."

Katsumi flopped onto her bed after changing into a tank top and shorts to sleep in. Her muscles were slightly sore and sleep was beginning to overcome her. However, she couldn't help but think of the way Shikamaru had looked when she had been _so close_ to touching her lips to his. There was a glint in his eyes that made the butterflies in her stomach flap harder. She had _wanted_ his lips on hers.

She sighed, stroking Akemi's head. _For Kami's sake,_ she thought, irritated. _He's my best friend! I really shouldn't be thinking about him this way._

Catching sight of the photo on her nightstand, she couldn't stop the wry smile from curving her lips. _I shouldn't be thinking about him this way, but I can't help it. Lazy man…_

_**-8-8-8-8-8-**_

_**Yes! I finally finished my first Shika/OC fic! Tell me what you think, and if you'd like to see more of Katsumi XD**_

_**~Alex**_


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